High prevalence of class i and class ii integrons in uropathogenic e. coli strains (upecs) and their relationship with antibiotic resistance, phylogeny and virulence

Abstract

Objective: Integrons, which are highly effective in capturing, integrating and expressing gene cassettes, play an important role in the dissemination of multiple antibiotic resistances. This study investigated the correlations of integrons in uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) with antibiotic resistance, virulence and phylogeny and also the relationships of phylogroups with virulence and antibiotic resistance.Material and Methods: Fifty UPECs isolated from uncomplicated cystitis and uncomplicated pyelonephritis were investigated to detect the presence of class I, II and III integrons and phylogenetic grouping by the PCR method. Their statistical relationship with antibiotic resistance and virulence genes were investigated using our previous findings.Results: Among 50 UPEC strains, 37 (74%), 22 (44%) and only one (2%) strain was shown to harbor class I, class II and class III integrons, respectively. Twenty one (42%) strains were found to carry both class I and class II integrons. The majority of the strains were grouped as phylogroup B2 (38%) and phylogroup E (38%). The presence of integrons was in association with only ampicillin resistance (p=0.014). Integrons was found to be related neither to virulence genes nor phylogroups; however, the presence of PAI (p<0.001), ompT (p=0.035), and usp (p<0.001) genes was found to be significantly related to phylogroup B2. Phylogroup E was found to be statistically significantly correlated with co-trimoxazole resistance (p=0.043).Conclusion: Consistent with previous studies, our results have proven that there is a strong association between antibiotic resistance and the presence of integrons (especially class I) in UPEC strains, and it has been shown that integrons became very prevalent globally.